Musings, dreams, thoughtcrimes.

Worth the speaking

In Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Catholic.
Then they came for me — and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.

Yes, indeed.
I also like to think of this quote as a reminder that when governments pass laws that restrict certain kinds of individual freedom, we should not stand silently merely because those laws don’t affect us directly.